The Apple-Google Competition Grows Ever More Ferocious

 

5. It's Microsoft all over again. 

If there is one company that Steve Jobs can't stand, it's Microsoft. The Windows maker has been a thorn in his side for years and the possibility of beating Ballmer and Company in any market really appeals to him. But now, with Android OS doing so well, Steve Jobs probably believes that he's facing Microsoft all over again. After all, Windows has long dominated on PC desktops, relegating the Mac OS to a distant second place in the industry. Now Google is trying to follow the same strategy with Android OS in the mobile market. That alone is probably not helping Steve Jobs warm to Google or Android. 

6. He lost AdMob. 

Losing AdMob was a major defeat for Steve Jobs. At the same time that Google knew that the future of advertising was in the mobile space, Steve Jobs realized it as well. In turn, both companies went after mobile-advertising firm AdMob. But Google eventually won out. Apple was left to pick up the scraps. Now, both companies are competing in the mobile-advertising space. And it's quite possible that Google has the best position in that space. 

7. Google has its sights set on Apple. 

Steve Jobs can't stand Google because he knows that the search giant is targeting his company every step of the way. It did so with Android OS. It did so with mobile advertising. Now it's trying to beat Apple by offering Adobe's Flash platform in its mobile Chrome browser to provide an additional benefit over iOS devices. Make no mistake: Such moves annoy Steve Jobs. And they're only making him angrier. 

8. Google took a page out of Apple's book. 

Steve Jobs gets serious about his ideas. So serious in fact, that he will protect them to the end and take offense at those who he believes are copying his ideas. Earlier this year, a New York Times article said that Jobs got into a "heated meeting" at Google headquarters when he learned that Google's Android team would deliver multitouch functionality. According to the report, Jobs told Google he would sue the company for using the technology. That exchange, if it did happen, probably didn't help the relationship between Google and Apple all that much. 

9. Steve Jobs' business philosophy differs from Google's.

Steve Jobs has a unique business philosophy. Rather than deliver run-of-the-mill products to achieve highest profits, Jobs spends his time trying to find unique new ways to put computing power in people's hands for work and entertainment. That's how he came up with the iPhone, the iPad, the iPod and countless other products that have proven so successful. But Google doesn't necessarily follow that path. And Jobs likely views that as a flaw in the company's direction, which of course makes it all the more annoying to Jobs when he realizes that Android OS sales are outpacing iPhone sales. 

10. There is nothing he can do. 

Frustration could be one of the main reasons why Steve Jobs takes such issue with Google. After all, he knows that his company is performing well, and yet most of the market believes Android OS will eventually dominate the mobile space. That annoys Jobs-a person who must win at all times-and makes him even angrier toward Google.